Words and photos by Flynn Acworth
New Zealand is a country pretty much built on DIY pioneer spirit, but it’s surprisingly hard to find any DIY skateparks around here. No doubt there are some around, but my guess is that they are either privately owned or are just hidden away in the wilderness.
But the Wellington Hospital DIY has been here for generations. Built on an abandoned slab of concrete behind the local hospital, it’s prime real-estate for society’s undesirables. Sometimes people go there to drink. Sometimes people go to mix concrete. And drink. Most of the time there’s skateboarding involved.
The current group of builders have quickly been turning the slab into a church for tight transition. Limited only by time and money, the the park has been slowly expanding over the last few years.
What’s it got? A four foot quarter with a foot of (over?) vert, excessively steep pump-bumps, a bank to wall, and exposed aggregate coping that demands unstable speeds if you want to crunch through more than two blocks.
It’s a nightmare to skate, and it’s fucking awesome.
